WEDDINGS

Ale & Juanito’s Rustic Mexican Fiesta

Happy Wednesday wedding lovers! I’ve got a cracking celebration to share with you today from Charley Smith Photography. Splitting his time between the UK and Mexico Charley gets to shoot all kinds of weddings, and we’re big fans of his work here at b.loved HQ! Alé & Juanito’s celebrations began the evening before the wedding with a traditional Mexican street party to music, drinking and dancing with their guests who had travelled from all over the world to celebrate with them. In our opinion anything involving tequila has to be a great ice breaker! The following day they married in a stylish ceremony in the grounds of a family property, decorated with organic & rustic details with a hint of Mexican style.

Over to the gorgeous bride for more ~

I’m from Peru and my husband is Peruvian-American. Living and loving San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for 4 years, it was easy to make the decision to get married there. Additionally San Miguel de Allende was recently named “The Best City in the World” by Condé Nast and has been a wedding destination for years. We got married on the property that Juanito’s grandfather bought for the love of his life in the 1940’s. They named it “SonjoWasi” (Direct translation in Quechua “heart home”). It is an amazing property full of history and beauty.

We had people coming from many different countries so we wanted to show everybody what Mexico, and San Miguel de Allende in particular had to offer. One tradition that we wanted to include was the “Callejoneada”. It is basically a walking and dancing celebration along the coble stoned streets. Mariachis with their instruments leading the way and a donkey carrying tequila on its back to share with all of the guests. Bride, groom, family and friends dance, laugh, and sing to the next destination. In our case, 5 blocks to La Parada, a Peruvian Restaurant, where the dancing and celebration continued! It was a blast! It was an awesome way to make everybody meet before the big day.

We wanted a romantic and elegant wedding, but since it was outdoors we also wanted to complement it with nature and its beauty. As centrepieces we had gorgeous trunks/logs with native succulents, wild flowers and orchids. As decoration we had vegetable boxes, pots with herbs and antiques. The ceremony was held on the main lawn of the property. We had what I like to call a “Love Ceremony” – a symbolic ceremony with no attachments to any religion in particular, but with the presence of God. One of my bridesmaids performed a candle ceremony which symbolically united the two new families in light. The ceremony was touching and vibrant.

To continue with Mexico and its culture, we had a full buffet of contemporary Mexican cuisine and at the bar they served different flavoured margaritas. Mojigangas were the hit of the party. Throughout the party there were also costumes and masks for the guests, sparklers, noise makers, and of course fireworks.

The professionals you find in San Miguel de Allende also make the planning and execution worry free. Guadalupe Alvarez from Penzi was amazing, creative, and had everything under control at all times. They do everything from the tents to the lighting, from the decorations to the catering. Our photographer Charley Smith was amazing as well. He was very professional and easy to work with. His style and his ability to frame a shot was refreshing and has made for a book of beautiful memories.

It was an incredible multiple day wedding and we are so lucky to have so many talented friends and family. Everyone helped and supported in their own way and the wedding would have not been the same without them.

Louise

After a decade-long career in corporate interior design, I took a giant leap of faith, left the security of an office job, and founded B.LOVED in 2011 as a platform for romantic and beautiful wedding inspiration. Thanks to a whole lot of creativity, hard work and passion, my gamble paid off and B.LOVED became one of the leading wedding blogs in the UK.

You’ll also find me working as an Editorial Stylist, where I design and curate beautiful photoshoots for wedding and lifestyle brands, as well as contributing as a founding member of bridal inspiration hub Aisle Society, and running wedding industry community the B.LOVED Hive from our super pretty base in London. Yep, I definitely have the best job in the world.

#157: olive branch

Good morning brides to be! There’s a lot of excitement at b.loved HQ this morning as